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West
Bromwich Albion v Portsmouth
The Hawthorns,
West Bromwich. 15th May 2005, 3.00pm. |
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Match
Preview |
 |
 |
| Result |
West Bromwich Albion |
2 - 0 |
Portsmouth |
| Scorers |
Geoff Horsfield (58)
Kieran Richardson (75) |
None |
| Attendance |
27,751 |
| Teams |
4-4-2
29 - Tomasz Kuszczak (GK)
14 - Martin Albrechtsen
19 - Neil Clement
4 - Thomas Gaardsoe
3 - Paul Robinson
24 - Ronnie Wallwork
11 - Zoltan Gera
8 - Jonathan Greening
15 - Kieran Richardson
21 - Kevin Campbell
34 - Robert Earnshaw |
4-4-2
(GK) Jamie Ashdown - 30
Aliou Cisse - 18
Arjan De Zeeuw - 6
Linvoy Primus - 2
Dejan Stefanovic - 3
Matthew Taylor - 14
Richard Hughes - 22
Gary O'Neil - 26
Ricardo Fuller - 19
Diomansy Kamara - 21
James Keene - 28 |
| Substitutes |
28 - Joe Murphy (GK)
5 - Darren Moore
33 - Junichi Inamoto
9 - Geoff Horsfield
25 - Nwankwo Kanu |
(GK) Kostas Chalkias
- 33
Richard Duffy - 24
Valery Mezague - 34
Giannis Skopelitis - 11
Aleksandar Rodic - 27 |
| Substitutions |
G Horsfield for J Greening
(58)
N Kanu for R Earnshaw (84) |
G Skopelitis for R
Hughes (50)
A Rodic for D Kamara (65)
V Mezague for J Keene (81) |
| Yellow Cards |
None |
Ricardo Fuller (33)
|
| Red Cards |
None |
None |
| Referee |
M Riley (West Yorkshire) |
Sunday 15th May 2005
will go down as one of the most remarkable days in the history of
West Bromwich Albion and of the Premiership, and I was proud to
be present and play a small part. One has to feel sympathy for the
fans of Norwich, Crystal Palace and Southampton, but not too much.
Staying in the Premiership could prove to be enormously significant
for the long term future of our great club, and it will live long
in the memory of all Albion fans.
Robson opted to keep Robert Earnshaw in the starting line-up giving
the Welshman his first back-to-back starts since January. Otherwise,
the side was as expected with Richardson returning to the team and
Kuszczak replacing the injured Russell Hoult.
The atmosphere before the game was incredible. Not only were the
Albion fans hyped up in the extreme, but the Pompey fans were in
equally jubilant mood with the expectation that their fierce rivals
Southampton could be relegated - they all seemed intent on being
psuedo-Baggies fans for the afternoon and some had gone to the extreme
in wearing an Albion shirt for the afternoon.
It was a strange experience as the events on the pitch in front
of us held only part of our attention. I, for one, had a radio to
my ear throughout the afternoon as happenings elsewhere were every
bit as important as a Baggies victory.
Albion should have been the first side celebrating when Campbell
combined well with Richardson resulting in the on-loan midfielder
squaring the ball for Earnshaw. It was a great chance for the Welshman
but he could only prod the ball wide although there was a suggestion
that he was being held back.
Although the Portsmouth fans may have been willing Albion to win,
their players were being extremely professional. Without an early
breakthrough, Albion began to look nervous. With scores elsewhere
going in Albion's favour, there were a series of cheers around the
ground which may have sought to realise Robbo's fears that the players
could be affected. Only the Portsmouth fans were quiet as Southampton
were in pole position for much of the first half as Norwich collapsed
at Fulham.
Albion's passing was dreadful and Portsmouth had a few chances that
really should have been converted. O'Neil blazed one over the bar,
Fuller shot well wide when he was clean through and Kuszczak was
called into action to deny debutant James Keene. The Pompey fans'
chants of "Let them score" were unfortunately falling on deaf ears.
As half time came, Norwich and Palace were losing and Southampton
were drawing all of which meant that an Albion goal would put them
into the driving seat.
The start of the second half saw no apparent change in Albion's
composure as Kamara went close with a header. Next it was O'Neil's
turn from a free kick, but his effort looked more like a pass-back
and there was one moment when Pompey managed to mess up a break
when they had a three-on-one advantage - any watching Saints fans
would have cried "conspiracy".
On 58 minutes, Robson made a change that will go down as a masterstroke.
The Horse was apparently confident of scoring should he get on,
and just thirty seconds after replacing Jonathan Greening, a deflected
Gera cross fell to him nine yards out and he struck a perfect volley
under Ashdown to give Albion the lead with his first touch.
The whole ground, including the Portsmouth fans, erupted. Palace
had earlier equalised but that goal moved Albion up into a notional
17th place. Seconds later, news reached us that Man Utd had taken
the lead at St Mary's leaving Southampton in dire straits.
For ten minutes, it was a party atmosphere. The goal had settled
Albion down and they played with much more fluency and confidence.
But ears were still glued to radios as events at the Valley were
on a knife edge. Thirteen minutes after Horsfield's goal, the news
that Albion fans dreaded arrived. Jon Fortune, whose poor header
had gifted Palace their equaliser, handled in the area to give Andy
Johnson the opportunity to put Palace ahead. He made no mistake
and all things went quiet at the Hawthorns.
With Portsmouth now making little effort to get back into the game,
the events on the pitch became secondary. Albion's second goal,
which was superbly created by Horsfield and calmly finished by Richardson,
was greeted with little more than polite applause.
As I listened to the radio commentary from the Valley, there seemed
little hope. Charlton were bereft of ideas and Palace appeared the
more likely to score. But then, with eight minutes to go, a ray
of hope. Charlton were awarded a free kick in a dangerous position.
The cross went in and I leapt into the air as I heard that Jon Fortune,
the villain of the day to that point, transformed into a hero as
he headed an equaliser for Charlton.
The Hawthorns went wild again, and then prepared for the agonising
wait. The game was effectively over at the Hawthorns and, with the
Radio Five commentators speaking more about the situation than the
play on the pitch, I was hoping that the same was true in south
London.
The final whistle blew in West Bromwich and the players remained
on the field as the final few seconds were played out at the Valley.
When the whistle went, all hell broke loose as the ultimate miracle
was confirmed - the Great Escape was complete.
The celebrations were superb - it is a day I will not forget. But
it is an achievement that will go down in history. The first club
to survive having propped up the table at Christmas - a remarkable
achievement by a remarkable group of players lead by a remarkable
manager.
Gary Megson may have been a hero, and his contribution to the club
cannot be overstated, but Bryan Robson has confirmed his status
as a Legend.
Marks
Tomasz Kuszczak - 7 - Had little to do; made one save.
Martin Albrechtsen - 6 - Did OK.
Neil Clement - 7 - Good solid performance.
Thomas Gaardsoe - 7 - Another good showing.
Paul Robinson - 8 - Excellent once again.
Ronnie Wallwork - 6 - Looked very nervous first half, but better
in the second.
Zoltan Gera - 7 - Some excellent moments and worked hard as always.
Jonathan Greening - 5 - Disappointing.
Kieran Richardson - 8 - MOM. Excellent display, particularly in
the second half when he ran the game.
Kevin Campbell - 6 - Did OK.
Robert Earnshaw - 5 - Another disappointing display.
Geoff Horsfield - 8 - Superb when he came on; fantastic goal
Nwankwo Kanu - 7 - Did enough.
Bryan Robson - 6 - Again he left the subs too late, although I though
he started with the right team.
Jon Want, 16th May 2005.
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